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A Guide For Buyers & Sellers (Texas Real Estate Commission)
Home Buying, A Step By Step GuideThe specific way you progress through a real estate transaction varies depending on the real estate laws and customs where you live, but there are many steps that are standard, even though they might not be accomplished in the same order in every location. You'll feel more confident about your home buying journey when you understand what is required of you and every other person who is involved in the transaction. Use this guide to get started. Step 1, Get Your Finances in Order Your credit reports are an ongoing look at how you manage your finances. You must know exactly what your credit reports say about your financial history before you apply for a home loan. Why? Because they play an important role in the mortgage approval process and in determining the interest rate and other loan terms that a lender offers you. If you haven't looked at your credit reports, you might be surprised at their contents, because errors are common. Step 2, Get Familiar with the Mortgage Industry Finding the right loan and lender is crucial to your home buying success. It's up to you to determine which lender is best for your needs, and it's always a good idea to have at least a bit of background about the loan process before you talk to a lender. Step 3, Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage Do you know how much house you can afford? Probably not, unless you've talked with a lender. Consider this scenario. A home seller gets two similar offers. One is accompanied by a letter from the buyer's bank that states she is pre-approved for a mortgage in the amount of the offer. The other has no supporting documents. Which offer do you think will considered first? Step 4, Determine Your Wants and Needs Buying a house isn't as difficult as you might think, even if you're short on funds, but the process will go a lot smoother if you get familiar with your real estate market and narrow down your wants and needs before you start looking at homes. Step 5, Learn to Work with Real Estate Agents Real estate agents represent buyers, sellers, or both--and in some states they can work as neutral facilitators for either party. It's essential to understand agent duties and loyalties before you make that first phone call. Step 6, Start Searching for a Home as your agent I will give you multiple listing sheets to study. I'm sure you'll also pick up house for sale magazines and read classified ads in your local newspaper. You'll probably spend time surfing the Internet for homes. You might even plan afternoon drives to preview neighborhoods. Those are all excellent ways to see what's available. Step 7, Handle Pre-Offer Tasks Deciding whether or not you want to buy a house involves a look at its structure and its features, but there are many other topics that are every bit as important to your purchase. Prepare yourself for the opportunity, when you find the right home, get it!. Step 8, Make an OfferThere's no one set of instructions that can cover the differences in real estate laws and customs, ask a real estate professional. The mechanics of making an offer and its specific contingencies depend greatly on your particular situation. However, there are some tips that I as your Realtor® can help you fine-tune so your offer is accepted. Step 9, Home Inspections and Other Tests In our area, home inspections take place after an offer is finalized. No matter when you do them, it's critical to seek your agent's advice to decide which inspections and tests you want to perform. Talk with your real estate agent or other advisor to find out when inspections should be scheduled and if additional types of testing are important for your specific area. Step 10, Avoiding and Correcting Last Minute Problems As your closing date nears, everyone involved in your real estate transaction should check its progress on a daily basis, because staying on top of things means you'll know immediately if there's a problem that must be dealt with. It is extremely important to stay aware of any problems that you as a home buyer must deal with before you close on a house. Step 11, You're on the Way to Closing Most of the problems are behind you now and you're on your way to closing, also called settlement, the event that transfers ownership of the property to you. Just a few more things to learn, a few more things to do, and you're there!
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